NeoTokyo
Bronze Member
Heya everyone;
So I finally got around to painting my T80 after I rebuilt it.
This lil gem was born the same year that I was, 1982.
For those that might notice the head bolts, those are Stainless bolts from Ace Hardware.
*When working with aluminum heads ALWAYS be careful not to strip the threads.* ( I did not, just a reminder.
)
I chose Silver and overall am happy with the job but the silver isn't as metallic as I had hoped.
I chose the wheel clear coat because it is made to hold up to extreme conditions and heat.
Honestly I should have just gone with the Rustoleum brand Gloss Wheel clear coat because I did not like how the VHT laid down.
I had not had any runs in my primer or my color but the VHT Clear had plenty of runs as you can see in the photos.
As for prep, I used a aircraft brand stripper, then I sanded and picked off most everything that I could.
Some rough spots were left but it doesn't need to be 100% perfect, just better than it was.
I used frog tape for masking and really liked it. I have used several different painters tapes before but Frog tape is the best that I have used.
My material list
*Rustoleum Professional Aluminum Primer
*Rustoleum Professional High Performance Enamel Paint.
*VHT Clear Gloss wheel clear coat (Recommend going with Rustoleum gloss wheel clear coat)
*Frog Tape
*Aircraft or any other brand paint stripper.
*Sand paper (P120 - P600) I used 3M's P120 Medium Smooths on the tougher paint. Careful though because this will scratch the aluminum easily. This is just for the tough area's the stripper cant take off.
Use finer paper when contacting the aluminum directly.
The before photos are of my friends T80 but mine was in the same external condition.
So I finally got around to painting my T80 after I rebuilt it.
This lil gem was born the same year that I was, 1982.
For those that might notice the head bolts, those are Stainless bolts from Ace Hardware.
*When working with aluminum heads ALWAYS be careful not to strip the threads.* ( I did not, just a reminder.
)I chose Silver and overall am happy with the job but the silver isn't as metallic as I had hoped.
I chose the wheel clear coat because it is made to hold up to extreme conditions and heat.
Honestly I should have just gone with the Rustoleum brand Gloss Wheel clear coat because I did not like how the VHT laid down.
I had not had any runs in my primer or my color but the VHT Clear had plenty of runs as you can see in the photos.
As for prep, I used a aircraft brand stripper, then I sanded and picked off most everything that I could.
Some rough spots were left but it doesn't need to be 100% perfect, just better than it was.
I used frog tape for masking and really liked it. I have used several different painters tapes before but Frog tape is the best that I have used.
My material list
*Rustoleum Professional Aluminum Primer
*Rustoleum Professional High Performance Enamel Paint.
*VHT Clear Gloss wheel clear coat (Recommend going with Rustoleum gloss wheel clear coat)
*Frog Tape
*Aircraft or any other brand paint stripper.
*Sand paper (P120 - P600) I used 3M's P120 Medium Smooths on the tougher paint. Careful though because this will scratch the aluminum easily. This is just for the tough area's the stripper cant take off.
Use finer paper when contacting the aluminum directly.
The before photos are of my friends T80 but mine was in the same external condition.
